Rick Marotta
Rick Marotta is a drummers’ drummer who turns up over and over again on the list of history’s most flawless recordings: Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, David Sanborn, Boz Scaggs, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, Toni Childs, Tom Scott, Jackson Browne, The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Warren Zevon, Roxy Music, Hall and Oates, and Aretha Franklin, to get the list started.
Flawless isn’t enough, though; Musicians and producers seek out Rick because of that special “feel”, the indescribable quality that separates good drummers from great ones. He’s at the top of the music world, with just a few others to keep him company.
Rick didn’t get there the usual way: he was a dancer before he began playing drums, and he didn’t start playing until he was 19. Also, Rick is self-taught. Along the way, he became a composer for film, television and commercials, as well as a producer.
These are not the usual influences, and this is not the usual path— Rick has managed to take a vast well of talent and shape it in a way that could never happen again.
I trust these won’t be the usual music selections on our show, either— Rick has a perspective like no other, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about the music he picked for us
Listen to the Rick Marotta Podcast
Rick Marotta Playlist
Tatler — Ry Cooder
Album: Paradise and Lunch, 1974
Drums: Jim Keltner
Bad Women, a Dime a Dozen — Jackie Thompson
Album: Single, 1969
Drums: Bernard Purdie
Only You Know and I Know — Dave Mason
Album: Alone Together, 1970
Drums: Jim Gordon
Nite Sprite — Chick Corea
Album: The Leprechaun, 1983
Drums: Steve Gadd
In Time — Sly and Family Stone
Album: Fresh, 1973
Drums: Andy Newmark
Living it Down — Delbert McClinton
Album: Nothing Personal, 2001
Drums: Ricky Fataar
Wicked as it Seems — Keith Richards
Album: Main Offender, 1992
Drums: Steve Jordan
The Brother — Robben Ford and the Blueline
Album: Robben Ford and the Blue Line, 1992
Drums: Tom Brechtlein
I have the Touch — Peter Gabriel
Album: Security, 1982
Drums: Jerry Marotta
Hour that the Morning Comes — James Taylor
Album: Dad Loves His Work, 1981
Drums: Rick Marotta
